248 OYSTER CATCHER 



months. Individuals which have been bred in high latitudes are 

 more precise in their periods of migration than those bred in the 

 south. In Kamtschatka, for instance, their southern migration 

 is so regular that the month of October has received the name of 

 the ' Lapwing month '. In Britain their wanderings are both more 

 uncertain and limited ; for, though they assemble in flocks in autumn, 

 they only migrate from exposed localities to spots which, being 

 more sheltered, afford them a better supply of food. 



In April and May these birds deposit their eggs, making no further 

 preparation than that of bringing together a few stalks and placing 

 them in a shallow depression in the ground. The number of eggs is 

 always four, and they are placed in the order so common among the 

 Waders, crosswise. Lapwings are to a certain extent social ,even 

 in the breeding season, in so far that a considerable number usually 

 frequent the same marsh or common. It is at this season that 

 they utter most frequently their characteristic cry, a note which is 

 never musical, and heard by the lonely traveller (as has happened 

 to myself more than once by night) is particularly wild, harsh, and 

 dispiriting. Now, too, one may approach near enough to them to 

 notice the winnowing movement of their wings, which has given 

 them the name of Lapwing in England and \^anneau in France 

 (from van, a fan). The young are able to run as soon as they have 

 burst the shell, and follow their parents to damp ground, where 

 worms, slugs, and insects are most abundant. When the young 

 have acquired the use of their wings, the families of a district unite 

 into flocks. They are then very wary, and can rarely be approached 

 without difficulty ; but as they are considered good eating, many 

 of them fall before the fowler. 



OYSTER CATCHER 



H^MATOPUS OSTRATEGUS 



The plumage of this species is entirely black and white ; head, 

 neck, scapulars and terminal half of the tail black ; rump, upper 

 tail-coverts white ; legs and toes pink ; eyelids crimson. Length, 

 sixteen inches. The young have the feathers of the back and 

 wings margined with brown. The Oyster Catcher inhabits the 

 shores of Great Britain and Ireland throughout the year. The 

 first time I came upon a flock of these birds I was able to approach 

 them nearer than on any other occasion. They frequently uttered 

 a harsh note in a high key which, though unmusical, harmonized 

 well with the scenery. I had many other opportunities of 

 observing them on the shores of the Scottish lochs, and I was 



